Various designs of camera arrangements of the aforementioned type are known from the state of the art. DE 43 29 983 A1, for example, describes a camera arrangement installed in an overhead console. The camera arrangement features a camera for detecting the flow of traffic in a traveling direction and one or several sensor installations for receiving or transmitting optical and/or electromagnetic signals. Among other things, the camera arrangement includes an optical moisture sensor (rain sensor) mounted to the windshield of the motor vehicle to measure how the moisture on the outside of the windshield changes the reflection of a light beam. A disadvantage of this previously invented camera arrangement is that the optical moisture sensor requires an optical coupling with the inside of the windshield. This optical coupling is provided by suitable means of optical coupling such as transparent glue or a transparent gel pad. The ensuing disadvantage is that the means of optical coupling restricts the way of mounting the camera arrangement to a movement perpendicular to the windshield. The means of optical coupling quite constrains the mounting process because a mounting movement (pushing or turning) towards or on the windshield is impossible.
Another disadvantage of the previous camera arrangement is that, when the windshield is replaced, only some of the components of the camera arrangement can be reused because the other components are glued to the windshield.
The current invention has the task of providing a camera arrangement of the aforementioned type which can be easily mounted somewhere on the inside of the windshield of the motor vehicle.